India's digital initiative is a key growth enabler for Facebook

According to Kevin Martin, vice president for mobile and global access policy at Facebook, the government's digital initiative has opened several opportunities when it comes to innovate and build for the countryIANS | September 28, 2017, 09:41 IST

DigitalIndia is certainly a big opportunity for both economic growth and innovation and the growth Facebook is witnessing in the country is a clear example of that, a top company executive said on Wednesday.

According to Kevin Martin, vice president for mobile and global access policy at Facebook, the government's digital initiative has opened several opportunities when it comes to innovate and build for the country.

"In India, 201 million people are active on Facebook. The country is home to one of the world's largest developers' community. There are over two million SMB (Small and Medium Business) Pages on Facebook in India," Martin said during one of the plenary sessions at the first-ever 'India Mobile Congress 2017' here.

Before joining Facebook, Martin worked as Chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

A recent survey by Facebook revealed that while 43 per cent of Indian exporters in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) depend on online tools for 75 per cent of their international sales, 63 per cent agree that using online tools for selling internationally has increased their revenue.

"More than 270 million people around the world are connected to a small business in India. These businesses are using technology to grow, build new opportunities and find customers at home and abroad," said Ankhi Das, Director of Public Policy for Facebook India and South Asia, recently.